The Orlando Magic get an opportunity to erase the sting of a narrow defeat 24 hours earlier when they return to their home court to face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Playing their second of three straight home games to open the season, the Magic watched the Atlanta Hawks rally from a 12-point deficit in the final nine minutes to pull out a 111-107 road win on Friday.
Orlando had used a similar rally to open the season with a 125-121 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
The Bulls, meanwhile, haven’t played since they held on for a thrilling win of their own on opening night, a 115-111 home decision over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Having to endure a back-to-back will cost the Magic one of their top players as they complete the homestand.
After missing Orlando’s final 35 games last season with a knee injury, Jalen Suggs is beginning the new year on a bit of a pitch count. He played 17 minutes in the opener against the Heat, then 19 against the Hawks, with the understanding that he would be rested on the second night of the back-to-back.
It’s for the good of both Suggs and the team, Orlando newcomer Desmond Bane told reporters.
“I tell him all the time: He’s the heart and soul of this thing,” Bane said. “Without him, we’ll still be a good ballclub, but he’s a guy that really puts us over the top.”
Suggs squeezed 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals into his limited action in the opener before contributing 11 points, three rebounds and four assists to the cause on Friday.
Bane, imported to add long-distance firepower to the NBA’s worst 3-point-shooting team last season, has logged performances that mirrored the Magic’s outcomes. He buried three of his six 3-point attempts in a 23-point effort in his Orlando debut before going 1-for-7 from deep and totaling just 15 points against the Hawks.
The Bulls limited Detroit to just seven 3-pointers in their opening win. Nikola Vucevic, meanwhile, dropped in four of Chicago’s 11 long-range hoops on a 28-point, 14-rebound night.
Vucevic will be returning to the scene of nine previous seasons with the Magic, during which he grew into being one of the NBA’s most potent long-range threats among big men.
After attempting just three 3-point shots and missing them all over his first two seasons for Orlando in 2012-13 and 2013-14, Vucevic bombed in 117 in just 44 games in his final campaign for the Magic in 2020-21 before being dealt to the Bulls. The blockbuster trade netted Orlando two players, including Wendell Carter Jr., and two first-round picks, which turned into Franz Wagner and Jett Howard.
Vucevic, who turned 35 on Friday, had even the reporters gushing after his performance in the opener of his 15th NBA season.
“I really don’t understand why you guys keep asking me these questions,” he joked with the media after the Wednesday game. “I don’t think I’ve shown any signs of slowing down or anything.”
